Authorities have declared a house fire in Anne Arundel County an arson and a hate crime after they said disturbing messages were found outside the building.

Anne Arundel County firefighters said the charred house is located in the 300 block of Church Street in Brooklyn Park. It's currently boarded up, with debris littering the front yard.

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Officials said firefighters were called to the home around 4 a.m. New Year's Day to find smoke and fire already billowing out of the building.

"My mom woke up and she heard something loud. She saw that the house was up in flames and called 911," said neighbor Taylor Mast.

It took 30 firefighters about 20 minutes to put out the flames. Once they did, officials said they found racial and sexual slurs painted in white all over the home's exterior.

"That raised some suspicions with our crews. They immediately contacted county police, who reported to the scene. It was also determined that this fire was intentionally set," said Anne Arundel County Fire Department Division Chief Michael Cox.

Fire officials said the blazed appeared to have started inside the home. Investigators are still looking into whether there was a break-in or if an accelerant was tossed inside.

Two elderly women who live at the home and their caretaker weren't inside at the time, officials said. Cox said he didn't know if the residents had reported being harassed in the past.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Metro Crime Stoppers at 866-7-LOCKUP.